Lee Seung-yeop |
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Lee Seung-yeop of the Yomiuri Giants has been a complete nonfactor in each of his past two seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The 33-year-old, once the cleanup man for Japan's version of the New York Yankees, spent most of his time in the second-tier league and saw his role diminish drastically on the first team.
The beleaguered slugger sees next season as his final opportunity to resurrect his career in NPB.
"I went through ups and downs this season. Now that the season is over, I want to start again from scratch,'' Lee said on his return to Korea Tuesday.
"I will try anything that could enable me to improve, and if it does not work, I think that I will have to find another path.''
The South Korean batter hit just .248 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs in 45 games in 2008.
The Tokyo-based Giants won the Japan Series two weeks ago, but he came off the bench and went 1-for-4 in the Climax Series 2 (second round of the playoffs) against the Chunichi Dragons. In the championships series, he was 3-for-12 with one homer.
Before the 2009 season, Lee chose not to play for the national team at the second World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, to instead focus more on the season. Unfortunately, it did little to help him resurrect his career, as he came up with another poor season - 16 homers, 36 RBIs and a batting average of .229 in 77 appearances.
"I stayed in the lower league for a long time and failed to produce a hit in over 30 consecutive at-bats. It was more that I was plagued mentally,'' Lee said.
"I batted eighth and served as a pinch-runner and a substitute for defense because I did not perform well. I will try to show a different picture of me.''
Lee began his NPB career with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2004 and smacked 41 home runs and drove in 108 RBIs with a .323 average in his first year with the Giants in 2006. That earned him a 3-billion-yen (39 billion won), four-year contract. Initially, it seemed like a good investment, as he notched 30 long balls and 74 RBIs and hit .274 in 2007.
But now with one year remaining on his contract and a lot left to prove, Lee is determined to turn things around - he knows he must if he hopes to stay in NPB.
"I have struggled for two straight years and if do not live up to expectations, I will not be able to re-sign,'' he said.
"I am in a critical situation now. If I lose my spot in the lineup, it can last through the season. As a result, this winter is really important to me."
While staying in Korea, he plans to train with Choi Hee-seop of the Kia Tigers.
However, he has ruled out any possibility that he may come back to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
"It is too premature to think about returning to Korea. I have still a year (in the Japanese league)," he said.
The former Samsung Lion played nine seasons until 2003 and accumulated 324 homers and 948 RBIs with a career average of .305.
ksw@koreatimes.co.kr
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